Toph luck on Terra firma
by Tatsurou-san
Summary: A teenage Toph winds up in Jump City and joins the Teen Titans.  Rated M for later chapters.
1. Different Things Change

1. Different Things Change She came to in a strange environment. She didn't know what was going on, but she was far from helpless. Focusing on her environment, she waited and listened.  
>Nearby, three young toughs approached her. "Well, well boys. Look at the treat that dropped onto our turf."<br>She scowled. Sensing the large, metal, wheeled object nearby, she seized it with her power. "Treat this!" Flexing her arm and her mind, she sent it careening into the toughs, smashing them into a stone wall, knocking them out.  
>Stepping out of the space between the buildings, she listened. The world was filled with strange noises. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she wasn't home.<br>Hearing an explosion, she turned toward it. *Well, I don't have any better clues,* she thought, as she headed towards the destruction.

The Titans had just returned from Tokyo. They were looking forward to an easy time relaxing, checking out their favorite hang outs. They weren't exactly pleased with how much the city had changed, and how many of their favorite hangouts were different or not there at all.  
>Robin and Starfire weren't too concerned. They'd just recently become an official couple. They weren't worried about anything. Cyborg was looking around to familiarize himself with the new configuration of the city. If things had changed too much, he'd need to redo most of the city plans he had in the tower mainframe. Raven was observing the city in her usual detatched way. She was sure she could find her way around without too much trouble.<br>Beast Boy wasn't really paying attention. While Tokyo had gone well mostly, it had ended rather badly for him. Just before they had left, he had gotten up his courage to ask Raven if they could maybe - just maybe - persue a relationship as something more than friends, maybe date. And she'd turned him down flat. He still remembered the words that had crushed him, that she had used to try and soften the blow. "You're like a brother to me." Ouch.  
>She had tried to comfort him. She'd apologized for hurting him, and told him she'd help him find someone who would be right for him. Her concern - her SISTERLY concern - had both eased the pain and made it worse. He put on his usual happy face, but there were more shadows behind it. It seemed like he'd never fall for someone who could really love him back the way he wanted. As he walked on, lost in thought, the world exploded around him.<br>"Hello again, Titans. Did you miss me?" That silky smooth voice could only belong to one villain.  
>"SLADE!" they all shouted as they prepared to fight.<br>"Why don't you just crawl back under whatever rock you've been hiding under, before we have to shove you right back in?" Robin pulled out his bird-a-rangs, ready to fight.  
>"What's the matter, Robin? A little sugar from your alien princess and suddenly you forget everything we meant to each other? I'm hurt."<br>"Shut up Slade, you-" Here Starfire said several words in her native language, none of which sounded pleasant. "You will hold your tongue or I will remove it!"  
>"Yeah, Slade! We've had enough of your nonsense, and we're taking you down!" Cyborg powered up his sonic cannon.<br>"I still have to pay you back for what you did to help my father," Raven said angrily, her eyes glowing.  
>Beast Boy chose not to speak, shifting into a gorilla and beating his chest.<br>"I'd reconsider your agression, Titans." He snapped his fingers. An army of Slade bots, numbering at least 200, appeared on the scene, armed with new weaponry. "You are at somewhat of a disadvantage."  
>The Titans flinched back, somewhat nervous about the odds.<br>"Now Titans..." He raised his hands. "...this ends now." He snapped his fingers.  
>Before the bots could move, spikes of earth erupted beneath each and every one, impaling eacn straight through the middle. Each earth spike then erupted spines that tore the bot impaled upon it to shreds. The spines then retracted, and the spikes shifted, bending to point straight at Slade, looking not unlike auto-cannons ready to fire. One remained straight up, with a flat top. Standing on it was a girl.<br>She looked to be about 16 or so, with black hair tied behind her head. She wore a strangely tailored yellow and green outfit that fit her well, no shoes, and she had strangely shaded blue-gray eyes. She was staring down at the scene with a big grin on her face.  
>"I figured the guy with the creepy voice and army of freaky metal things was the bad guy. Did I guess right?"<br>Slade snarled and threw down a smoke bomb, his plan foiled. Before the smoke has cleared, there was the sound of rock slamming into rock, and the girl cursing. When the smoke cleared, several of the spikes had extended to embed themselves in a nearby building, pinning a good portion of Slade's costume to it.  
>"He got away..." She sighed angrily. Making some intricate, strong movements with her hands and arms, the earth projections retracted into the ground, the building repaired itself, and the pavement smoothed itself out. "At least there's not too much damage, anyway..." She walked towards the Titans, and grinned at them. "So did I make a mistake, or do I get a thank you?"<br>The Titans stared at the girl. Finally, Beast Boy got himself under control enough to ask, "Who are you?"  
>"Oh, my name's Toph. Who are you all?" <p>


	2. Meet the Titans

2. Meet the Titans Toph turned this way and that as she waited for the strangers to introduce themselves. Suddenly, someone slammed into her bodily and unexpectedly. She was spooked at first, until she realized she was on the receiving end of a too tight hug.  
>*Great,* she thought, *it's a flying Katara.*<br>"Hello, new friend! I am Starfire, and I am most pleased to meet you and I welcome you to our fair city." She had a tight grip, and everything about her screamed sincerity. Toph seriously doubted if this exuberant adolescent was capable of lying.  
>"Nice...to meet you...too. Would be...even nicer...if I...could breath..." Toph managed to squeeze out."<br>"Oh. I am most sorry." She let go immediately. "Sometimes I forget my strength."  
>"No problem," Toph said as she caught her breath. "Just go a little easier on the pressure next time."<br>"Hi. I'm Beast Boy. I'm the funny guy!" The one who came up here to shake her hand oozed an eagerness to please, but there was darkness there, sadness. He also had...pointed ears? That was new. She decided she needed to give a proper response.  
>"That's okay. Look at me. Looks aren't everything." She was surprised at how much everyone laughed at that one.<br>Then the big guy spoke up. "I'm Cyborg. Got any tech questions, you ask me." From what she could tell, much of his body was metal, like that guy they once called Combustion Man. Remembering what they called him the first time, she knew how she'd respond.  
>"I'll keep that in mind, Sparky." She'd ask him what this 'tech' he spoke of was later.<br>"I'm Raven." The speaker touched down nearby. "That was an interseting technique you used there. Shows a lot of control for a Geomancer." Her voice was tinged slightly with suspicion, and she had a lot of control over her body responses. Toph had no idea what was going through her head.  
>*Great. Another flier, and this one doesn't trust me.* "It should. I've trained my entire life to be as good as I am, so I'd say I've earned my title as the best in the world." Toph said this with pride. She sensed the suspicion ease off, and was confused.<br>The last one stepped forward. "I'm Robin. And we're the Teen Titans." He seemed very in control of himself, his self-discipline second only to Raven's in this group.  
>*Must be the leader.* She takes the offered hand. "Pleased to meet all of you. So...Teen Titans, huh? You a band or something?"<br>"We're superheroes," Raven said drily. "Isn't it obvious?"  
>*Oh...powers like theirs must not be very common here. Mine, too.* "Cool. So you guys save the world a lot?"<br>"Mostly the city," Robin said. "But we've managed to spread out a bit, and our team's planet wide now."  
>"Cool." Toph was impressed. They must have some organization. She felt the approach of a lot of people, and the overall sense of avarice - mostly directed at her - made her very nervous. "Who are they, and what do they want?" she asked, pointing.<br>"Reporters," Cyborg said. "They want to interview you. You're a new hero shown up on the scene, and you managed to deal with a major threat with minimal collateral damage. They want your story."  
>Toph backed away from the approaching reporters. "And if I don't want to give them my story just yet?"<br>"Then come back to the Tower with us," Beast Boy spoke up. "They won't bother you there, and there's lots of cool stuff to do."  
>Toph hesitated, then nodded. "Sure, why not?"<br>"Right." Robin took charge. "Beast Boy, get her back to the Tower. Raven, run interference till she gets there. The rest of us will buy some time answering some questions."  
>"Right." Beast Boy suddenly dove under Toph's legs.<br>"Hey! What do you think-" Her angry retort was cut off when Beast Boy suddenly shifted into a horse right underneath her, leaving her astride his back. Feeling the changed contours of his body, she said, "Oh. That's how you're super."  
>He took off at a fast trot. He was a lot faster than any creature she'd ever ridden before, and without contact with the ground, she couldn't tell where they were going. From the wind whipping past her face, though, she knew she didn't want to fall off, and held tight to the mane, crouching over his neck. Suddenly she heard Raven's voice in her ear. "Take a deep breath."<br>About to ask why, she felt Beast Boy shift again into a dolphin. Taking a breath, she felt the shock as they hit the water. She held on tight, and before long they hit land again and he shifted back to norrmal. "We're here," he said excitedly. "Wasn't that fun?"  
>Toph got her feet back on the ground, and promptly punched him hard on the arm. "Don't you EVER do that again without more warning, you hear me?" She started to shake herself off, mumbling, "Hate the water, hate the water..."<br>"Then we probably should have mentioned that we live on an island, huh?" Beast Boy seemed suitably chastised for his behavior.  
>"WHAT?" Toph was freaking. Calming herself, she spread her awareness through the ground, feeling the land. She felt the shape of the land around her. SHe felt every detail of the shape of Beast Boy's body. She felt the shape of the metal and glass of the tower, a large T standing in the middle of the island. Spreading further, she felt the bridge on the opposite side of the island, connecting back to the mainland. "Care to tell me why we didn't take the bridge?"<br>"Cause...there were reporters swarming it?" He could tell she was starting to calm down now, so he took her hand. "Come on! The tower looks even better on the inside. Let me give you the grand tour. I promise it's like nothing you've ever seen before."  
>"I'll buy that," she said with a chuckle at the joke she would try to keep private there. <div> 


	3. Grand Tour

3. Grand Tour Toph followed Beast Boy as he led her around the tower, showing her everything it had to offer.  
>"This is the common room. Here we hang, eat, watch TV, play video games. Yeah, our TV's huge, I know."<br>"Can't say I've ever seen any bigger," she chuckles, looking in the direction he gestured. "So what's a TV?"  
>Beast Boy stared at her for a while, then laughed. When she didn't join in, he stopped. "What?"<br>"What's a TV? Never heard of one where I come from."  
>"Dude...no TV? You're missing out on sooo much! You'll have to join me for a veg-out session at some point."<br>"I'll keep that in mind," she said, as he dragged her off to another area.  
>"Here's the bedrooms. We each got our own, designed to our tastes. This one's mine," he said, opening the door.<br>By now, Toph's earth bending had showed her the entire tower's structure in her mind, feeling the vibrations through metal and glass. Stepping into the room, she was assailed by a powerful scent. "Woah. When's the last time you cleaned this place?"  
>"Ummm..."<br>Toph grinned. "Cool."  
>Beast Boy grinned. Then he spoke up. "No! Not that room!"<br>Toph stopped as she was about to enter a room that she'd felt some interesting vibrations from. "Why not?"  
>"That's Raven's room. Nobody goes in Raven's room!"<br>Toph smirked at him. "What are you, chiken?"  
>"In this case," Beast Boy suddenly shifts, "Buk-CAK!"<br>Toph laughs. "All right, all right..."  
>He changes back. "Now this way..."<br>A little later...  
>"And over here is the bath room."<br>"Bathroom?"  
>"Yeah...indoor plumbing in all it's wonders." He opens the door with a joking smirk.<br>As Toph enters, she feels the change of material as she explores. She recognizes a few things, but their placement seems odd. "How do you get the water all the way up here?"  
>Beast Boy grins. "Marvels of modern engineering." He walks forward and pings the tub faucet with a finger.<br>Toph feels the vibration trace the pattern of water pipes throughout the entire tower. "Sweet..." she mumbles as she follows it in her mind.  
>Beast Boy smirks at her. "Wait till you see the gym." As he turns to lead her out, she stops.<br>"What's the room two floors down and three to our left? Seems kinda big and has a lot of pipes leading to it." She looks at him, sensing his shock. "What? I can feel it through the metal of the building."  
>"That is awesome! And I don't know what the room is yet. Cyborg's been working on it. Says it's a surprise. Come on, the gym's this way."<br>Toph runs after him. When they reach the gym, she stops to get a better sense of the room.  
>"This place is sweet..." she says at last.<br>"I know, awesome, right?" He turns to leave. "The others should be back soon. Hungry?"  
>"Starved." She turns to run. "Race ya to the common room. Loser has to cook!" She took off like a shot.<br>"You'll regret that bet!" he yelled as he turned into a cheetah and tore up the stairs. When he got there, though, she was waiting for him.  
>"What took ya so long?"<br>He changed back. "Wait a minute...how did you...?" Then he saw the open window. "No fair!"  
>"What? You coulda flown. Stop complaining and start cooking."<br>He sighed. Then he grinned. "All right then, but if I'm cooking, than I'm cooking tofu!"  
>"Great!"<br>He stares at her in shock.  
>She smirks at him. "I made friends with too many animals back home to feel good about eating meat as I got older. And when it's cooked right, tofu tastes great!"<br>His grin sparkles, and he turns to cook.  
>The others get back as they begin to eat. "You're a pretty good cook, BB!" Toph was saying as they walked in.<br>"Oh no! Did BB make you some of his tofu crap? How many times do I gotta tell you, grass stain, real men eat real meat!" Cyborg started at the top of his lungs.  
>"I'm not gonna tolerate the killing of some defensless animal just so you can make yourself a meal!" Beast Boy yelled back.<br>The arguement continued from there. Halfway through, Toph started laughing uncontrollably.  
>"New friend Toph, what is so amusing about friend Cyborg and friend Beast Boy's daily arguement about the meat and meat substitute?" Starfire asked in confusion.<br>Toph turned to Starfire, amazed. "You mean they do this every day?" she asked.  
>"More like every meal," Raven retorted drily.<br>Toph's answering grin was huge. "I think I'm gonna like it here." She dug into her meal with gusto. 


	4. Understanding

4. Understanding Toph sat out on the beach behind the tower, away from the mainland, seemingly staring out at the sunset. It had been a few days since she'd come to the tower. She'd been crashing wherever she laid down for the most part. She wasn't to worried. She hadn't decided if she was staying or not yet, so there was no point in them making a room for her. She was enjoying her time here, that was for sure. While the TV and other visual mediums the others enjoyed so much were meaningless to her, she found more than enough to fill her time.  
>Starfire seemed to have a real passion for art recently, and Toph had enjoyed the time they'd spent shaping clay and that 'Play-doh' stuff. The 'Play-doh' fight that had developed had been pretty fun, too.<br>Cyborg was still repairing the obstacle course, while complaining that her time wasn't valid. Toph didn't get that part. He'd said the goal was to get through the goal as fast as possible. Surely bringing the goal to you was faster than going to the goal?  
>In the gym, she'd spent a lot of time sparring with everyone, though Robin most of all. He still couldn't figure out why, no matter what manner of free fighting they did, she could dodge his every blow. Now he'd managed to dodge most of hers, so they were pretty evenly matched, but that just made him more eager to spar.<br>She'd spent some interesting quality time with Raven. She'd actually let Toph into her room, and she had spent most of her time marveling at Raven's unique collection of statuary. Raven had spent most of that time telling Toph about where she'd gotten each of the statues, and any stories behind them. Toph had helped Raven with identifying some of the statue's component materials, which helped her research some of the more obscure ones.  
>Beast Boy...now the time she'd spent with him was interesting. He'd spent most of the time with her telling really stupid jokes, but they were ones she'd never heard before, and she found them genuinely amusing, even if most of them weren't even close to funny. She'd even tried her hand at a few jokes herself, and they'd made him laugh. And there were some times when they'd just enjoyed companionable silence. A few times, she'd had to resist reaching out to touch his face in that time, to fill in the gaps of his features that her earth bending couldn't show her. But she didn't want him - or any of them - to know about her blindness. She didn't want them to feel sorry for her.<br>All of a sudden, she felt a rush of air against her face, and she flinched back. The bird that nearly hit her face settled to the ground and she felt its form shift. "Beast Boy, watch where you're flying! You nearly hit me!"  
>"Sorry, I thought you'd seen me. I came in straight at you for at least 100 feet."<br>Toph flinched inwardly. "I guess I must not have noticed, sorry. I was lost in thought."  
>"Oh." Beast Boy fell silent, then turned towards the sea. After a time, he spoke again. "Beautiful sunset, isn't it?"<br>"Sure," she said, not really paying attention. "Real pretty."  
>Beast Boy turned to stare at her. "Toph...it's cloudy. You can't see the sunset."<br>She flinched visibly. She turned to face him, and he saw - really saw - her eyes for the first time.  
>"But you couldn't see it even if it weren't cloudy, could you?"<br>She sighed, rubbing at her sightless eyes. "I was born blind. That really a big deal?"  
>He went slackjawed for a time, then spoke. "But...how do you manuever so easily? You got sonar or something?"<br>She smirked at him. "I see through my feet. I feel the vibrations in the earth - or metal or glass - and it forms a picture in my mind of my surroundings."  
>Beast Boy smacks his fist into his palm. "So that's why you have trouble tracking exactly where Star is! Cause she floats mostly." Toph nods. "But you always know when she's in the room."<br>Toph taps her nose. "She has very distinctive perfume."  
>Beast Boy grins at her, even though she can't see it. "That is so cool."<br>Toph stares at him...sort of. "Cool?"  
>"Yeah. You took what could have been a real weakness from birth and turned it into your greatest strangth. You're not disabled...you're handi-capable!" He smirks from ear to ear.<br>She grins back. "You got that from a TV show, didn't you?"  
>"Well...wait, you don't watch TV, right?" She nods. "Then nope! That was a 100% Beast Boy original." He strikes a pose with his chest thrust out, and she cracks up laughing.<br>After a time, he sits next to her, and she turns to him. "Beast Boy...do you think you could keep this to yourself? Not tell the others?"  
>Beast Boy looks at her. "You sure?"<br>She tries to smile at him, but it fails. "I...I don't want them to make a big fuss about it."  
>He smiles at her. "I promise. I'll keep it a secret...for as long as it is a secret."<br>Her smile is more genuine now, more stable. Then she frowns. "What do you mean, 'for as long as it is a secret'?"  
>He chuckles. "Toph, Robin was trained as a detective by the best one the modern world has ever seen. Raven is an empath, and can read people's emotions. Cyborg has a slew of medical technology built into his body. And heaven only knows how much Star can read from a person's behavior. I won't tell them, but it's only a matter of time before they figure it out on their own. And knowing Robin, he'll probably pull some stunt revealing it to everyone, not knowing it's supposed to be a secret. Or that's what he'll say, anyway..." His voice trails off, and his bearing turns dour.<br>Toph looks at him. "I take it that happened before?"  
>"We had a geomancer on the team once. When she first came here...she didn't have complete control of her powers. When I found out, she asked me to keep it secret. I promised her I would. Then Robin...he'd figured it out on his own, and when he invited her to join the team, he offered right there in front of everyone to help her to learn control. She thought I'd told him, and..."<br>Toph was quiet for a while. "...You had feelings for her, didn't you?"  
>"...yeah...she was my first crush..."<br>Toph was quiet for a while. "I take it it didn't work out?"  
>"...she came back to us...pretended everything was all right...had full control of her powers...then betrayed us to our worst enemy."<br>Toph gasped. "How could she?"  
>"I don't know. I guess she was...just desperate to get control of her powers...of her life. Desperate enough...to give it up to someone who offered it."<br>Toph was quiet for a while. Then she spoke again. "But you forgave her in the end, didn't you?"  
>"...yeah...I'm kind of a sucker, aren't I?"<br>"No...you're a good person." Toph stood up, deciding to change the subject. "Let's go in, it's getting a little chilly."  
>They turned to head in. "Hey, Toph?"<br>"Yeah, BB?"  
>"...thanks."<br>They smiled at each other, and he knew, even if she couldn't see it, she felt it.  
>Toph decided it was time. Reaching out, she gently ran her fingers down his face. He stood perfectly still while she did this. She smiled at him.<br>"I'm not one to judge, BB, but I think you're pretty cute."  
>He laughed. "Even though I'm green?"<br>Toph laughed. "I never noticed."  
>Laughing, they raced back to the tower, side by side. <div> 


	5. Time to Play

5. Time to Play

Toph lay on her bed in her room. It had been two weeks since she had been officially welcomed as a Teen Titan, and she still couldn't believe it. Picking up her communicator again, she felt its distinctive curves and contours, the raised shapes on the two buttons, clearly defining to her sensitive fingertips which one opened the com to answer or send a signal and which dismissed one, and over the external speaker that stated who was calling before she opened it.

She smirked. Robin had done exactly as Beast Boy had thought he would. When he gave her the communicator, he said he had specially designed it to take her blindness into account. She didn't have to see to feel the glares the entire team was giving him when he said that. She had laughed when he didn't understand why they were glaring at him. Raven had summed it up perfectly with her pointed question: "Didn't you learn anything from Terra?" It had taken Robin a few moments, but he got the point.

Raven had spent the next few days putting Toph's library together. It wasn't as large as Raven's, but all the books were written in Braille. Beast Boy had spent nearly every day with her, teaching her to read Braille. She was amazed that in this world there was a written language specifically for blind people. Robin had tried to make amends by offering to add Braille writting to the various locations of the tower, but Toph had said it wasn't needed. She already knew where everything was.

The com started to beep. "Beast Boy. Beast Boy." She pressed open. "Hey Beast Boy, what's up?"

"We've got some visitors. WHy don't you come meet 'em, Toph girl?"

She grinned at his nickname for her. "On my way." Closing the com, she hopped off her bed.

As soon as her feet touched the floor, her room appeared once again in her mind as the vibrations showed it to her through her Earth Bending. They'd gone all out with this. A stone floor shaped with natural contours...a real grass carpet in one section...the window was shaped like the opening to a cave...and instead of a lamp, there was a vein of geode crystals that ran all the way to the outside through the walls on all sides of the building, sending a corruscating rainbow of light through her room that she could literally feel, whenever there was any light outside. It was perfect, and she loved every bit of it. She slept on the bed, even though it left her blind at night, because she loved that first moment of seeing the room when her feet touched the floor each morning.

Reluctantly leaving the room, running her hand over the books on her rock shelf on the way out, she headed to the main room. The guests were waiting there. One girl, one boy. Both were about her height, although the girl wore platforms to manage that. The girl wore her hair up to look somewhat like horns, while the boy kept his under a full face mask. Toph still didn't understand the mask 's the point of a secret identity if the whole world knows where you live?

"Ah, here she is." Robin gestured to her. "Toph, this is Jinx and Kid Flash. Jinx is a spell caster, and Kid Flash-"

"I'll make my own introductions," the boy said. He zipped towards Toph at lightning fast speeds. "I'm Kid Flash, fastest boy in the world. Bet you can't sto-"

Toph tracked his movements and caught him with a sweeping straight arm that twisted into a headlock. "Stop you?" she asked, as she proceeded to give him a noogie.

"AH! Not the noogie!" He kicked his legs and she let him go, laughing. Everyone got a laugh at that.

"Sorry, Dasher, try your prancing on someone else, cause you'll never get past me."

"Told ya, KF. YOu'll never beat a girl who's got your number," Jinx said impishly.

Kid Flash glanced towards her. "Is that a challenge?"

Jinx smirked at him. "Anywhere, anytime, any girl could kick your butt."

Toph smirked. "Is this a battle of the sexes now?"

Cyborg smiled. "No power soccer. In the park, tomorrow at noon. Winner's get the first bath in the new indoor hot spring area I've been building!"

Everyone spoke up. "It's on."

As everyone left to prepare, Toph walked over to Raven. "What's soccer?" she asked quietly. 


	6. All's Fair

6. All's Fair

"Okay, let me get this straight," Toph said as the team's gathered around tehir respective goals. "The point of this game is to get the ball into their goal, and keep it out of ours?"

"That's right," Raven said. "And only the goalie can use their hands to touch the ball. Everyone else can only use feet, head, legs, or torso. Shoulders are iffy."

"And for this game, the goalie can also use powers," Jinx continued. "However, only on themselves. Powers can't touch the ball."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense. Sounds like fun." Toph paused, then gestured down at herself. "But what's with the outfits?"

All four girls were dressed in Japanese school uniform gym clothes; tight-fitting white T-shirts and gym shorts.

"YOu know, Iwas wondering that, too," Raven said. She turned to Starfire. "WHy are we dressed like this?"

"But...friend Kid Flash said that it is traditional for Earth sex battles to be dressed like this," Star said worriedly. "Did I mistake his meaning?"

The other three girls looked at each other. "Figures," they said simultaneously.

"I can't believe Wally would take advantage of Star's naivete like that," Jinx said, fuming.

"I can," Raven said. "He's the biggest pervert this side of the planet. Be glad you can't hear his thoughts right now."

Toph was silent. WHile she understood what was being talked about, she wasn't sure how it applied. Being unable to see left her immune to and unaware of the effects of visual sexual stimulation. She knew most girls prettied themselves up, but she didn't see how that applied here.

The game was on, and they went at it. WHile Toph couldn't see the ball in the air, tracking how everyone was moving their heads as they watched the ball told her where it was at all times. SHe'd gotten very good at that, to the point where she could actually draw the path of the ball's movement in her mind as she tracked everyone's movements. Being a forward, she was quickly able to rack up a few points for her team. Then something unexcected happened.

She was forward, ready to get the ball, but Beast Boy was coming up fast, ready to intercept. Suddenly, she started itching just below her new breast band - what Raven and the other girls called a 'bra.' Pulling her shirt up, she reached in and scratched.

Beast Boy suddenly slipped, skidded across the grass, and slammed into a tree. Blood was leaking from his nose. Toph wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but since Cyborg was yelling at him angrily rather than with concern, she assumed he was okay, caught the bal against her chest, and kicked it into the goal. Years of earth bending had given her very strong leg muscles.

Back with the girls, Jinx and Raven were barely holding in laughter. "Toph, that was horrible!" Jinx said, before laughing aloud.

"What?" Toph said, totally confused. "WHat did I do?"

"That bit with your shirt! It was perfect! Good way to get Wally back for tricking us into wearing these things." Seeing Toph's confusion, she explained, "Boys are easily distracted by female flesh, especially that which is not normally on display. When you lifted your shirt like that, he couldn't think of anything but how sexy it made you look. That's what made him crash like that."

TOph turned bright red. "I'd no idea..." Suddenly she grinned. "We're only a few points away from total victory. SInce Wally was kind enough to give us these outfits, why not use them?"

Starfire grinned. "We are to do the dirty playing now?"

Jinx smirked back. "I love it. I'll go first."

During the next play, as Kid Flash was being guarded by Jinx, she suddenly placed her hand on her lap. "God, Wally, the way you move...you make me so hot!"

"Buh-wha?" Kid Flash, having just made a lunge towards the ball, lost his focus and wound up speeding right into a tree. Intercepting the pass, Jinx sent the ball into the relatively unguarded goal.

"Yeah, it's called air burn!" she shouted at Kid Flash, laughing.

Next play, Robin moved to block Starfire. He tried to be ready for anything, but then she bent over and thrust her rear at Robin.

"Boyfriend Robin, these shorts...do they cause the big looking of my butt?" she asked innocently, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat calls coming from the audience that had gathered. Robin tripped over his own feet and went tumbling into a tree.

"No Star...I think your butt looks fine..." he said dazedly as she sent the ball into the goal.

The boys gathered. "Okay, if the girls get one more point, we lose. We are not losing to these dirty tactics! Cyborg, you're forward. Get that ball into the goal!"

"On it," he said. He charged forward once the play began. As he came up on the goal - guarded by Raven - he suddenly heard Raven say, "Okay...that was the wrong spell," and he turned...then flipped, rolled, and crashed headlong into the goal post. The other boys - and the entire male audience - could only stare.

Raven's spell had animated the grass, which had reached up to hold her suspended in the air by her arms and legs, her legs held open and her arms held behind her back. One strand of grass ran up her front inbetween her breasts. The largest collective nasal hemorage Jump City had ever seen occured in the park that day.

Breaking her spell, Raven came back to the ground just as the ball rolled up to her. Stopping it with a foot, she picked it up. Smirking, she threw it towards Jinx, calling out, "Serve!"

Jinx leaped up, deflecting it with a thrust of her rear, calling, "Bump!"

Toph headbutted it through the air, calling, "Set!"

Starfire finished by leaping into the air and kicking it as hard as she could without her powers, shouting, "SPIKE!"

THe ball rocketed past Robin's attempt at defense, and scored the last goal. The girls ran up together and high fived.

"This is the girl power, yes?" Star yelled/asked.

"Oh yeah, girls rule!" Jinx said.

"And boys drool!" Toph yelled laughing.

"Yes, I'd say the boys are drooling quite a bit," Raven said drily, sending Jinx and Toph into gales of laughter. Star, however, looked very confused.

"Please, why is the excessive salivation of the boys amusing?" The boys came over.

"That was playing dirty," Kid Flash said, glaring.

"Says the one who told Star to dress us in fetish!" Jinx countered, glaring right back.

"Besides," Raven said, "the only powers not allowed were super powers. Not our fault if you can't maintain your focus. That's a fault of your training." Robin, who was about to say something, stayed silent.

Beast Boy spoke up. "Well, they may have played dirty, but they won fair and square." Cyborg grumbled about the fair part.

Toph smiled. "And since we played dirty...we need to get clean." Raven opened a portal back to the Tower. "And no peeking or eavesdropping when you get back, got it?" The girls all stepped through the portal, and it closed behind them.

The boys took their time getting back. When they did, the girls were already finished with the new bathing area, and were hanging in the common room. Starfire was giggling, Raven and Jinx were smirking, and TOph was blushing. No one would say anything, though. 


	7. Dropping Several Bombs

7. Dropping Several Bombs

The girls got back from the soccer game well before the boys, thanks to Raven's shadow warp. They had plenty of time to try out Cyborg's latest project.

"Last one in has to clean up when the boys are done!" Toph shouted as she ran for the bathroom. The girl's ran as fat as they could, giggling...ecept for Raven. She smirked and warped to the door. Toph got there next, followed by Jinx adn finally Starfire, who didn't know where the room they were heading for was and had to follow.

"Now that's not fair, Raven! Warping is cheating!" Toph said, laughing.

"Whatever, let's just go in." They went in together, laughing.

What they saw made them stop and stare. They knew Cyborg had managed an indoor hot spring...but this was a full on Japanese style bathhouse!

"...Impressive," Raven said at last.

Toph went to one of the cubbies and started to get changed. "Come on, it'll be more fun uing it than admiring it!"

In the bathing area, Toph tossed water over herself. Shaking her head, she sent droplets sprinkling everywhere. Smiling, she checked to make sure she got all the soap off, then cannonballed into the hot spring. Popping her head out, she sighed in contentment.

Raven glanced at Toph. "You know, with how you behave, one would almost think we had a boy in here with us." She had finished first, and climbed into the spring to soak.

"Friend Toph! I shall make the bigger splash!" Starfire dove in spinning, and Toph and Raven put up their hands to shield their faces from the splash.

"You were saying?" Toph asked Raven.

"Shut up," she replied.

Jinx then came and joined them. Unlike Toph and Star, she climbed into the water decorously, slowly slipping into the water with nary a splash. Seeming not even to think about it, she slid over next to Raven and put her arms around her. Smiling, Raven turned and started to kiss her. At Starfire's gasp, they both froze, then pulled away.

"Umm...Star...I, uh..." Raven was obviously trying to cover somehow.

"Is this the part where you try to fob off what that really was as some strange Earth custom that she'll wind up trying to imitate? Or are you gonna just spill the beans?" Toph grinned as Raven turned towards her. She didn't need to see to know the glare she was getting, and she could feel Jinx' mortification.

"Friend Raven, you did not tell me you were a Jix'mar'ka!" Starfire said excitedly.

"A...what now?" Raven asked.

"On my planet, it is the term for one who prefers the company of one's own gender for physical intimacy. It is quite common. I do not understand why you would not have mentioned it before."

"Um, well...it's not something that's...universally accepted on Earth..." Raven was a little flustered trying to explain this. "Jinx and I...we kinda had a...thing before I joined the Titans."

"Then when we were on opposite sides...it kinda fell apart," Jinx continued. "I was...embarrassed about my...differences, so Raven had promised when we first got started to keep our relationship a secret. After the destruction of the Academy...we kinda got back together. Figured it didn't make sense to let...differences of the moral compass...get in the way of what we had."

"Besides," Raven said, "at the time, I thought my life had an expiration date, and I didn't want to waste what time I had left alone."

"But what about Malchior?" Starfire asked, confused.

"...he made me feel normal..." Raven said quietly, not looking at Jinx.

Jinx put her hand on Raven's shoulder. "It's okay, Raven. I know, we had hit a rough patch, and...I understand. It was the same with me when I...fell for Stone."

They were all quiet for a while. Then Raven looked up at Toph and Starfire. "Could...could you keep this a secret for now? Please?"

"No prob," Toph said. "I try not to pry into other people's personal lives. Especially my friends. I learn enough without prying."

"But friend Raven, why would you feel you have to hide this?"

"For the same reason you hide the business with the late night windows, Star."

"I know not that which you speak of, friend Toph." Star's cheeks, however, put the lie to the statement as they turned red.

"Late night windows? What are you talking about, Toph?" Jinx asked, curiously.

"Not sure, exactly. All I know is sometimes, late at night, Starfire open her window from the inside...and Robin's window from the outside."

Starfire turned bright red and covered her flaming cheeks. "I am so embarrassed..."

Raven looked at Starfire. "Star...just how far have you and Robin gone in these...late night rendevous?"

"... ... ...I believe you would call it...third base?"

"Wow," Jinx said. "And here I thought, what with all that hair gel and everything, that he was, what did you call it, a Jix'mar'ka?"

"Oh, no no no, definately not! He is most passionate and-" Star shuts her mouth, and Toph and the others can't help but laugh at her discomfiture.

"It's okay, Star, we won't make an issue of it. We'll keep each others secrets." There were nods all around.

"Well, it's not like I have any secrets to keep, right?" Toph said at last.

"You mean other than your obvious crush on Beast Boy?" Jinx said with a grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Toph said, but she could feel her cheeks heating.

"That's quite all right, Toph," Jinx said. "He doesn't know either."

"Despite how obvious he's been," Raven said.

"What do you mean?"

"Toph, I don't need to be an empath to tell that he's hopelessly smitten with you. It's up to you wether you want to pursue it or not."

"...I'm getting out. It's gotten too hot for me in here." Toph got out of the spring, ignoring the other's chuckles.

The boys were confused when they saw the girls in the common room when they got back, Star looking excessively cheerful, Raven and Jinx sitting close to each other, and Toph off to one side, looking flushed, but none of them had a clue what was going on. Besides, they were tired, and they wanted a bath, too. 


	8. Hot Nights, part 1

8. Hot Nights, part 1

She was astride him as he raced across open ground. She felt the wind rush across her body, chilling her slightly against the heat in her body. He was a horse, that much she knew. A branch passed close enough by her head for her to feel the air passage, to know they were in the woods.

After an unknowable amount of time, he stopped and reared. She clung to him, feeling the curve of his neck against her chest. As he settled back to all fours, he started to shift back. She felt the shift of every muscle and bone through his skin, the raw power of every animal that was a part of him.

She felt her hand on the bare skin of his chest. Felt the blade of his shoulder brush against her breast. Startled, she stepped back across the grass beneath her feet, her mind blinded by realization.

His hand cupped her chin, tilting her face up. SHe knew their eyes had met. "Beautiful..." he whispered.

Her heart thudding in her chest, she allowed herself to be gently guided into his embrace. She felt his body, firm and strong, fit perfectly into her gentle curves. She felt his hard, animal heat press against her thighs. She felt the first taste of his lips. Throwing herself into the passion that overcame her, she kissed him hungrily. She felt his fang become more pronounced against her lips, and knew the strength of the animal inside him, fighting to break free. She shivered in anticipation.

His kiss moved from her lips, down her chin, along her neck. She gasped as the hands stroking her back curled, and she felt the soft drag of claws along her spine. SHe cried out as he suddenly bit down on her neck, not enough to draw blood, but sharp enough to cause both pleasure and pain.

Overcome with passion, she pushed him onto the ground, falling on top of him. She couldn't take it anymore. Filled with an animal need, she stradled him, eager for everything he could give her. His touch, moments ago fierce, turned suddenly gentle as she took control. BRacing herself, she thrust herself down onto him, and cried out as he penetrated.

"BEAST BOY!"

*THUMP*

Toph blinked a few times after her head hit the floor, to clear her mind. She was in her room. She had sweated through her sheets, and thrashed her way right off the bed. Sitting up, she rubbed her head where it had hit the floor. Checking, she discovered that - as several friends had long suggested would happen - the floor was more damaged then her head was. She chuckled, thinking BB would get a kick out of that.

THinking of him brought the dream back full force. Getting up, she wrapped a robe around herself.

*Raven,* she thought. *She's had a lot of experience with dreams. Maybe she can explain this one to me.* She went looking for her mystic friend. 


	9. Hot Nights, part 2

9. Hot Nights, part 2

Toph walked through the halls of the tower. She knew where she was going. Stopping outside of Raven's room she noticed something odd.

*Hmm, she's not in there. Well, she might be floating, but...* Extending her senses elsewhere in the tower, she smiled. Turning she headed to another room and knocked on the door.

Jinx slid the door open slowly. "Za? Oh, hey Toph. Isn't it kinda late?"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry to wake you. Can I come in?"

"...why?"

"Well, I needed to talk to Raven, and she wasn't in her room. Figured you could help me." She smirked at her.

She didn't need to see Jinx' blush to know it was there. "Just get in here."

In the room, once the door closed, Raven sat up from the bed. "What do you need, Toph?"

Toph sat down a little nervously. "Umm, you know a lot about dreams, right?"

"I guess you could say that. Why?"

"Well, I had one that was...kinda srange, and I'm a little worried. And back home, strange dreams are sometimes messages from the spirit world or stuff like that, and since you know about that stuff, I thought maybe you could tell me what this one meant."

Raven smiled at Toph's awkwardness. "Alright, I'll try to interpret." She smiled wider as Jinx sat on the bed and snuggeld up to her. "Go ahead, tell me about it. Don't leave out any details, no matter how minor. They might be important."

"Umm...okay." Toph told Raven and Jinx about the dream, going into more detail than she would have normally, but Raven had said every detail was important.

When she finished, there was dead silence. Then Jinx stood up.

"Jinx? Where you going?" Toph asked, confused.

"To change my panties." Jinx headed for her closet.

Raven tried very hard not to laugh, but an amused snort snuck its way out. Toph looked up at her, glaring. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry." Raven composed herself. "Toph, I'm assuming someone's given you 'the talk', right?"

TOph tilted her head, not sure what she was saying.

Raven sighed. "Okay...I know you don't see, but do you understand the concept of physical attraction?"

"Oh, totally. After 'seeing' the way some of my old friends went at it, I'd have to be a total moron not to get it. YOu have no idea how often I've wished I could fine tune my earth radar to block out things."

"Okay...more than I needed to know..." Raven took a deep breath. "You remember what we talked about in the bath?"

"Course I do. What about it?"

"About you and BB?"

Toph blushed. "What's that got to do with the price of pears in Persopolis?"

"Toph, I know your not that dense. It was obvious to us that you were emotionally attracted to Beast Boy, and this dream should have made it plain to you that you're physically attraced to him as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Toph, you do know what a 'wet dream' is right?"

"Yeah, it's..." Toph stopped, everything clicking into place in her head. CUrling up into a ball, she wished she were on solid ground so she could pull up an Earth tent to hide her. She never wanted to dissappear more than right at this moment.

Jinx came over and sat next to her. "It's okay, Toph. It's nothing to be ashamed of. First time having this sort of dream?"

Toph nodded, unable to speak.

"Well, don't worry, Toph. What you told us here won't leave this room, and we'll help you through this. Okay?"

Toph nodded. "Thanks."

Unknown to all of them, a green housefly buzzed quietly away from outside the door where it had been hovering. Settling down in his room, Beast Boy changed back, and desperately tried to calm the rushing of blood in his veins. He had meant to just find out why Toph had gone to Jinx to find Raven, but had learned more than he bargained for. All it took was Toph saying the dream was about him, and he couldn't leave.

Looking in the mirror, he faced off with this tough dilema. *Okay, you know how you feel about her...and now you know how she feels about you. So...what now?* Sighing, he turned back to his bed. *I guess I'll sleep on it...and hope I don't dream!* 


	10. Making a Move

10. Making a move

Beast Boy paced back and forth in the common room. He was starting to freak out a little. He knew this was the right thing, but he didn't know if he was ready. Then again, after that conversation on the roof, he didn't exactly have a choice.

-Flashback, on the roof that morning-

"Beast Boy."

"What is it, Raven?"

"I know you were eavesdropping last night."

"I, uh-" He couldn't help but flush as the memory came back.

"That tells me how much you heard. So I have a deal for you."

"A deal?"

"Ask her out, and I won't give you the punishment you deserve for eavesdropping."

"...Raven, are you playing matchmaker?"

"Offer expires in three seconds. One...two..."

"Okay! Okay! I'll ask her!"

-End Flashback-

He had gone then to ask Toph if she wanted to go out that night, presuming no villain activities. She had said yes, and she, Raven, Jinx and Starfire had been at the mall since, getting her 'date clothes.' SHe had gotten back just a little while ago, and was getting changed. When asked, he had suggested "dressing casual."

As he paced, Cyborg looked up. "Dude, BB, at this rate you'll wear a hole in the floor. It's not like this is your first date ever."

"But it's important, Cy! I want to be sure she enjoys herself, and it's really important here, okay?"

"Well," Robin asked, "where are you taking her?"

"Umm...the carnival..."

"Dude! Can't you think of anything new?"

"Hey! I never said I was good at thinking originally! Besides, what else am I supposed to do? It's not like there's any new movies out she wants to see!" Cyborg and Robin were quiet at that. "Sides, I'm sure she'll love the carnival skill games."

Finally, Toph came down, looking nervous. She was wearing a nice green blouse and tan hip hugger jeans. She had refused shoes completely, and wore a headband in the same green as her blouse. She wore her hair straight down. Her only make up was some colorless lip gloss.

"Hey," she said. "So how do I look?"

He smiled at her. He knew she couldn't see it, but she could feel it. "YOu look lovely," he said, his words feeling inadequate, but her blush made him feel more confident. Taking her hand, he led her out.

At the carnival...

"Sweet! I didn't know there was a festival in town! What's the occassion?"

Beast Boy chuckled. "It's not a festival, just a carnival that comes around here every so often. I thought you might enjoy it."

"Have they got any skill games? I rock at those!" She smirked at her inadvertant joke.

Laughing, he ran with her to the various booths.

Test your Strength...

The man running the game stared up at where his bell had been attatched before the girl had shown up. SPurning the hammer, she had slammed down on the point with her fist, and the recoil had sent the bell flying up into the air. He didn't know what he was going to do if he couldn't find it when it came down...or if it came down on someone...

The Cup Game...

"Enough! Enough! I won't double or nothing anymore!" The man running the game handed Toph her winnings, then put a 'CLOSED!' sign up on his booth. Laughing, Toph and Beast Boy went on to the next booth.

The shooting gallery...

"See? I told you I'd win you a prize," Beast Boy said as he handed her the prize proudly. It was...

"A giant bunny? Really?" Toph quirked an eyebrow. It was all she could do not to be sarcastic.

"Yeah," he said. Leaning in, he whispered, "I picked it for the color: the exact blue-gray of your eyes."

Blushing, she clutched the bunny to her chest.

Bumper cars...

"Wow, that was crazy." Toph was still a little dizzy from all the movement.

"Fun, huh?"

"Yeah...but I'm glad I stuck to being your passenger..."

Finally, they rode the Ferris Wheel. As they came to the top, she turned to him.

"Beast Boy...this was my first date ever...and you made it wonderful. Thank you."

He smiled at her. "I'm glad I could make it so wonderful. I was kinda nervous I wouldn't live up to expectations. The bar's pretty high." He suddenly slapped his hand over his mouth. *Crap, I'm dead!*

"What do you mean?" She was confused, but feeling his nervousness when she touched his hand, she began to have suspicions.

"Last night..." he spoke, deciding to tell her and face the consequences, "I kinda sorta accidentally...overheard your conversation with Raven."

Toph stared at him. "How...how much?" She could feel her face burning.

"...too much..."

They sat for a while, both unable to look at each other. A glitch in the ride controls had them stuck at the top for a few minutes.

"Did...did that have anything to do with you asking me out today?"

"It...may have been a major push in being confident enough to ask you out, yeah."

"Okay then."

He looked at her confused. She smiled at him.

"I'll forgive you for eavesdropping, but you have to do something for me."

"Name it."

Smiling, she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "If our relationship progresses to the point of my dreams...exceed expectations."

He turned bright red. "I...I don't know if I can pull that off..."

"THen do your best. As long as I'm not dissapointed, you'll be forgiven." The wheel started up again, and they disembarked at the bottom. Laughing, they headed for home.

Unknown to them, their entire night had been observed from nearby...by a young girl their age standing on a floating rock. 


	11. Changing back?

11. Changing back?

It had been a month since her first date, and Toph couldn't be happier. Admittedly they had only been able to have two more dates since then, but that's what it was to be a superhero. Besides, the dates had been wonderful, and it wasn't like she didn't 'see' him every day!

The second date had been a dinner date. He had thought to take her somewhere fancy, but she had told him she had no interest in going somewhere where she'd be expected to use those fancy-shmancy manners. Instead, they had gotten dressed up a little nice - he in a white dress shirt and slacks, her in a form fitting green Chinese style dress - and hit an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. They had enjoyed it immensely.

The third date had been a nature hike. Beast Boy had taken her out to a part of the local area she hadn't been to before, and they hiked around it, exploring. The best part had been the discovery of an unexplored cave system. They'd actually spent three days there, not realising the cave blocked their communicators. Thy got royally reamed by Robin for being out of contact for so long, but it had been worth it.

Hearing a commotion, Toph got up and stretched, then went out to join the others. She was sure of her place here now, and couldn't be more content...

And who was that hussy hugging HER boyfriend?

To his credit, Beast Boy did push her away. Then he made ntroductions. "Toph, this is Terra. Remember I told you about her?"

Toph remembered. She glared towards the geomancer, trying to guage her strength.

"Pleased to meet you, Tuff," Terra said, extending her hand.

"That's TOPH," she replied, grudgingly shaking her hand.

Some details were exchanged. Apparently, Terra had broken out of the statue she had been sealed in when Ravend efeated her father. Toph still wan't clear on the details of that. Terra had lost her memory at the time, and had lived normally. Once her memory had returned, she came back to the Titans.

Toph could tell Terra wasn't telling the whole truth, but it wasn't her place to say.

"Come on, Beast Boy, let's see if I can still kick your butt at video games."

As Terra dragged him off towards the common room, he found himself gazing after Toph. He thought he would be happy that Terra had her life back, had come back to the Titans, but...seeing the sad look on Toph's face as he was being dragged off to video games...he began to realize just how much he had changed.

At the console, Terra was easily kicking his butt. He'd fallen out of practice, since Toph didn't do video games, and he preferred spending time with her to that. Finally, he dropped the controller.

"You win, Terra." He turned to leave.

"Come on, BB. Don't you wanna try for two out of three?"

"Not really."

Everyone turned to stare at him.

He smiled at everyone as he fished something heavy out of a cupboard. "I guess my gaming interests have changed." He turned and followed his nose. She was in her room.

Toph sat on the floor, against her bed. She told herself she wouldn't cry. It's not like that girl could steal him awa with video games...a pastime he loved with a passion...one she couldn't participate in...

She heard a knock on the door. "It's open," she said without thinking.

Beast Boy stepped in. "Hey."

"H-hey. I thought you were playing video games with Terra."

"Got bored." He chuckled at th look on her face when he said that. "It wasn't any fun without you around."

"Beast Boy...you know I can't play."

"I know. That's why I'd rather play a game you can play." He laid out a tarp and a device with a speaker.

She examined the tarp. It was canvas, with sixteen circles in a four-by-four pattern. But each circle...was lined with a different type of stone. Four circles in each row had the same type of stone, and no row had the same type as another. When the speaker activated, she realized what this was.

"Game Start: Left hand, Red Sandstone."

Laughing with her boyfriend, she began to play one of the simplest and yet most enjoyable games around...Twister. 


	12. Unexpected Revelations

12. Unexpected Revelations

Terra stalked the halls of Titan Tower at night. What was with that girl? Why did she rub her the wrong way? Why wa she so special? And above all, WHY DID BEAST BOY FAWN ALL OVER HER LIKE THAT?

Terra had been back two weeks, and in that time she had tried repeatedly to snag Beast Boy's attention, to rebuild their old relationship. But each time, he'd smile, shrug, and go running back to Toph. WHAT DID SHE HAVE THAT WAS SO SPECIAL?

"What does she have that I don't?" Terra grumbled to herself, not for the first time. Finding her way to the common room, she plopped down on the couch.

As if all the attention Beast Boy payed her weren't bad enough, Terra had seen the girl's room. What the hell kinda first impression had the girl made to get that kinda effort for the room? The most she got was a special bed and custom wallpaper. Toph, meanwhile, gets a full redecoration to the point it didn't even look like a room anymore, but a displaced cave.

And then there was the girl herself! She walked with an unconcious grace and pois, going shoeless no matter what. Did she think she was the Mother Gaia herself? And the way the others seemed to always be watching her discretely, as though worried she might break. She wasn't even all that good looking! Okay, maybe that was harsh.

Sighing frustratedly, Terra turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. And to top it off, Toph said she was the greatest Geomancer ever. The ego on that girl! How could she claim that. Terra dropped the remote, and struggled for it, not noticing the channel was on Nicktoons. But then something came on the TV that caught all her attention.

"I am the greatest Earthbender ever, and don't you forget it!"

Terra's head snapped up, her eyes becoming fixed on the character that made the claim. A slow smile began to spread across her face as the cartoon concluded. She turned off the TV, and went to a computer, researching this show, "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and that character once she found her, Toph Bei Fong. She smiled as she ead all there was about her.

This was knowledge she could use.

Deep within the earth, something stirred, waking from eons long slumber, as THE TIME approached. 


	13. Earth Rumble Finale

13. Earth Rumble Finale

Things were going about normal that day. The Titans were gathered around the breakfast table. Robin and Starfire were practically sitting in each others laps as they ate. Cyborg claimed the head of the table as the cook, though he had made tofu for both Beast Boy and Toph, which had surprised Terra. Raven and Jinx took the end of the table. Jinx had requested and been granted a permanent reassignment to the Jump City tower. Beast Boy was practically sandwiched between Toph and Terra, looking not unlike a hunted animal in expression.

Then Terra changed things up. "So, Toph, you say you're the mightiest Geomancer ever?"

"Yep," Toph said easily. I've trained all my life to make the most of my powers, and I KNOW there's no one who can beat me."

"Care to put that to the test?"

Everyone went dead quiet. Toph turned towards Terra.

"Are you...challenging me?"

"Sure. Let's see which of us is the better fighter, shall we?"

Robin facepalmed. He should have seen this coming, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Starfire looked concerned. She did not want to see her friends fight, but somehow honor had become involved, and just like when she had challenged her sister, no one could be allowed to interfere.

Beast Boy looked worried. He knew Terra preferred to fight from an aerial position, but Toph was completely ground bound. She'd be at a distinct disadvantage, but there was nothing he could do here.

Raven glared. She knew Terra disliked Toph, but to take this approach? It's not like Toph would agree to making Beast Boy a wager, if that's what she was going for. Besides, didn't she hurt BB enough last time?

Jinx whipped out her cell phone and tweeted the event, taking wagers.

Cyborg grinned at them both. "I've set the arena up out back. Keep it inside the arena, okay?"

Both girls nod, and everyone gets up to head outside.

Raven looked over at Jinx. "So, how do the wagers stand?"

Jinx looked up at Raven, smirking. "Everyone knows what Terra is capable of...but Toph's pretty unknown. Except for those who've actually met her, everyone bet on Terra."

"You think you're gonna make a killing?"

"Course I do. I've seen Toph in action."

"Terra fights from the air."

"And Cyborg's limited the field of play. Inside the arena, he said."

Raven's eyes widened, and she grinned. "Clever Cyborg."

Down at the arena, Terra handed Toph a headset. "What's this for?" Toph asked.

"For smacktalk. And a little extra hazard." She was grinning far too widely.

Toph put the headset on...and she could hear nothing. "What gives?"

"I thought it might be interesting if we couldn't track each other by sound," Terra's voice said from the earpiece.

Toph felt her blood run cold, but she didn't let it show.

Cyborg's voice came over the communicator. "You're both in the arena. Once the match begins, the only thing either of you will hear is each other, or the bell to stop. Rules are simple; defeat can be reached by knock out, submission, or leaving the field of the arena. Using material from outside the arena is also forbidden." Toph grinned, sensing a good deal of metal mixed in with the earth of the arena. She had an advantage. "No lethal force; let's keep this fight friendly. Begin!"

The rock Terra was standing on detattched from the rest as she levitated it into the air. Toph went pale. She hadn't expected Terra to be an aerial fighter.

"What's the matter, Toph? Afraid of heights?" Terra's voice came over the headset. "Or then again, you're a superhero now. Maybe I should be calling you...I don't know, The Blind Bandit? Or do you prefer The Runaway?"

Toph went stiff. "How...how do you know about that?"

"You mean, how do I know your full name is Toph Bei Fong, born in the Earth Kingdom, and aided in ending a war that had lasted 100 years when you weren't yet 12 years old? About your friends you haven't seen or heard of since you got here?" Toph barely managed to avoid several rocks Terra threw her way from the air. "Or how I know that as long as I'm not touching the same piece of earth you're standing on...you might as well be blind?"

Toph flinched away from the comments, dodging thrown pieces of rock that curved and twisted in mid air, taking several hits from the smaller ones.

"I saw it on TV...on a cartoon. How does it feel to know that your life story...that everything you are...in this world is nothing more than a fantasy crafted to entertain children?" Terra sent a rather vicious attack towards Toph, certain of victory.

Suddenly, the entire arena erupted. Rock spires shot up into the air, and several caught Terra's rock platform, which she had kept directly above Toph. Toph then rode a column of Earth up and smashed through her platform, cannoning into Terra.

"Is this the part where you ask me what it's like to fall for someone, only to watch him chase another?" Toph began to pummel Terra with her fists. She was right, Terra relied entirely on her powers, and was next to helpless at hand to hand. "What it's like to wonder if he ever saw you as more than a friend, or if you were just deluding yourself? Cause I do! I've experienced it three times! What about you? Do you know?"

Terra pulled a rock out of the ground and slammed it into Toph, shouting, "SHUT UP!" Seeing how Toph was falling, she reshaped the earth there so it wouldn't be how Toph expected it to be, grinning.

Then Toph twisted and thrust, and the Earth rose up to catch her, turning soft. "Oh, so psychological warfare is okay, right up until it's turned on you? I thought this was supposed to be a fair fight?" Toph could feel the Earth groaning, as Terra was about to pull something massive. Desperate to stop her, and feeling the damage to the island she was inadvertantely causing, Toph took her strongest horse stance, poured her energy into the Earth, flexed...and held.

The groaning stopped. Terra couldn't understand it. Toph had taken that stance...and the Earth stopped responding to her.

Raven's eyes opened wide as she watched through her magic. Terra's energy glowed yellow, as always, but Toph...the energy pouring off of her was invisible except through magic...and then it glowed green. And the green glow pouring off of her held the entire island in place, cutting Terra off from the use of any Earth.

Terra snarled. "So, you're pretty strong...but you're also pretty helpless like this!" She charged in, intent on beating Toph down with her bare fists...when metal spires suddenly erupted out of the ground in front of her. Everyone gasped.

"What'sa matter?" Toph asked Terra, grinning. "Forgot I could do that? Or did you not get that far in your research? Admit it Terra, I am beyond you. I am the mightiest Earth bender, and don't you forget-AAUUUGGHH!" Toph suddenly clutched her head as white light poured from her eyes.

Raven couldn't understand what she was seeing. That white light...it came from the Earth, and filled Toph, but...what was it?

Not knowing or caring what was going on, Terra dodged around the metal spires, intent on punching Toph out...when a giant hand made of Earth reared up out of the ground and smacked her to the pavement.

"ENOUGH!" Toph spoke, but the voice was not her own. It was ancient and powerful. "I have waited to long for one like this one. One who wielded the Earth without command. You seek to command the Earth, but the Earth obeys no master!"

Terra shook herself out of the dirt, hearing Raven gasp at the voice. "Who are you? WHy do you interfere?"

"Gaia has chosen," the voice spoke, and the white light vanished. Toph fell over backwards...and Beast Boy was at her side, catching her.

Terra stared. Then she swallowed. Standing up carefully, she walked towards them, in time to hear Toph mumble, "Did...did I win?"

Beast Boy chuckled. "No contest."

"Indeed."

Toph turned towards Terra, and accepted her hand up. Terra pulled her into a quick embrace, and whispered in her ear, "Take care of him, okay?"

Toph nodded. She didn't need an explanation.

Terra turned and went to talk to Robin quietly. "Two earth users on the same team would just trip each other up. I think it's best if I get reassigned to a different team."

Robin blinked a few times, then nodded. He could see what wasn't being said. "They should have a place for you at Titans East. You should do fine there."

"Thanks."

Later, Toph was in her room. Terra had left, but the sting of her words hadn't.

'How does it feel to know that your life story...that everything you are...in this world is nothing more than a fantasy crafted to entertain children?'

That haunted her. If her life story was just a fantasy here...then this wasn't even close to her own world...and she would never see Aang and the others again...

There was a knock on the door. "Come in Beast Boy," she said. She needed him right now.

Beast Boy came in, and was somewhat surprised when Toph threw herself into his arms. He held her for a while, until she calmed down. She didn't cry, but she did shake a bit. "What's wrong, Toph girl?"

She smiled again at the nickname. "It's...complicated." She sighed. "You watch a lot of cartoons, don't you?"

"Used to, yeah. Not so much anymore, got different interests now."

"Oh..." She steeled herself. Before Terra had left, she had gotten certain information out of her. "Ever watch one called 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'?"

"Dude! It was one of my favorites! Haven't been watching the reruns, though. That finale where Aang took away Ozai's firebending was awesome, though!"

*So that's where it ended,* Toph thought. "So, what did you think of the characters?"

Beast Boy looked at her oddly, but sat down and began to answer her question. "Well, Aang kinda reminds me of Robin most days. A tendency to take things too seriously, but a fun loving side behind that. Sokka reminded me a lot of Cyborg with the meat obsession and the humor."

Toph chuckled. Pleased to see that this was cheering her up, he continued.

"Katara always reminded me WAY too much of Starfire." He paused when Toph laughed aloud at that. "What?" Toph just shook her head and motioned for him to continue. "Tsuki kinda reminded me of BumbleBee of Titans East, taking a lot of responsibility on her shoulders way too young. Mei reminded me a lot of Raven back in the day, to be honest. Tai Li is obviously Jinx, no contest." Toph chuckled at this comment.

Grinning, Beast Boy continued. "I always really liked Iroh...he was really cool and laid back. I always thought he'd make a really great dad. Then again, he was that for Zuko, wasn't he?" He paused then, and sighed. "Zuko...I always saw a lot of myself in him...except his scars were on the outside. But that struggle he faced - between honor and duty, his father and Aang - it kinda reminds me of the struggle I go through every day, the fight between the human and animal in me."

Toph touched his shoulder in sympathy. "So...was Zuko your favorite character, then?"

"Not even close! My favorite character was Aang's Earthbending teacher Toph Bei fong! She was so cool, the way she overcame...her blindness..." He suddenly turned to look at Toph, and saw her blushing face. "Oh..."

"Yeah...oh..." Beast Boy chuckled, and Toph glared at him. "What's so funny?"

"Well, it's just when you were a character, I kinda had a fan crush on you. Who'da thunk that when I met you for real...I'd fall in love."

"L...love?" Toph's voice sounded small, even to her.

Beast Boy nodded.

Toph was silent for a while, then looked up at him. "Beast Boy-"

"Garfield."

"What?"

"Beast Boy is my superhero name. My real name is Garfield Mark Logan."

"Garfield..." Toph smiled. "I like that. It suits you." She cupped his face, and brought him down for a kiss. When they parted, she smiled. "And I think Toph Logan has a nice ring to it, don't you?" Feeling his momentary panic through his skin, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm in no rush. We've got nothing but time after all." Finally, the physical and emotional strain of the day caught up to her, and she fell asleep in his arms.

He held her close, watching her. *Toph Logan, huh? ...I like it...* 


	14. Until we Meet Again

14. Until we Meet Again

Toph leaned back on the roof of the Tower. A couple weeks ago, she'd told the others what she'd learned, between Beast B-Garfield and Terra. Their reactions had surprised her. None of them were amazed at the notion that she came from another Earth. In point of fact, Raven and Cyborg had promised to find a way to build a machine that could connect the two earths so she could go back and forth as she pleased, so she could see her old friends. They didn't know how long it would take, but they were going to try.

Toph couldn't believe how many tears she had shed since coming here...and the vast majority of them were of joy. She had such good friends here...and a guy who loved her, and who she loved in return. She almost told them not to bother with the gate device, but...she knew how much Aang and the others had to be worried about her. If...if she had to choose between the two worlds...

Suddenly, there was a tearing in the air, and she ducked under the overhang. Then there was a strange howling in the air, and voices approached from above.

"You sure this is the right world?"

"That's what the spirits said."

"Has to be! Look at that giant T!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're looking for Toph, and there's a giant metal...thing shaped like a T. It's gotta be a message from her, telling us she's here!"

"Except for one thing, Sokka. Toph can't read!"

Toph stepped out from under the overhang, waving upward towards the source of the voices. "That's what you think, Twinkletoes! Down here!"

She smiled as she heard them all calling out to her. She recognized everyone who was there by voice. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Mae, Tai Li, and even Iroh! She also heard Momo's chittering and Appa's happy bellow. Then Appa landed, and she stiffened as she saw two unexpected passengers. Pointing at them, she rounded on Aang.

"What are THEY doing here?"

"Toph...your parents just want to set things right-"

"I'm sure!" TOph turned around in a huff. If there was one thing she didn't want right now, it was her parents judging her like they always did.

"Now, Toph," her mother began, "I know we've made mistakes, but surely you can give a chance to set things right."

Toph started to waver. Then her father spoke.

"Yes, dear, it is time for you to come home and take your proper place in the Bei Fong household. Now, once we get you home, we can begin some negotiations, and-"

"NEGOTIATIONS!" TOph knew what he was talking about. The Bei FOng's were an important family, and she knew how family alliances were determined. "YOu haven't seen me in years, and the only thing on your mind is marrying me off! Get out of my life, old man! I'm not going back! I'm happy here!"

"I'm soory, Toph, but I do this for your own good." Her father snapped her fingers, and something seized her arms and legs, lifting her off the tower. She recognized floating hands of stone.

*Dai Li agents!* She struggled, and she heard a lot of shouting from several people...followed by a sudden howling and a rush of wind.

"Silence!" a deep, gravely voice snarled, and everyone froze.

Sokka whispered, "Aang! Go do your Avatar stuff with the spirit beast!"

"What makes you think it's a spirit beast?" Aang asked.

"Cause it's talking!"

The gravely voice spoke again. "Release her...or I rip out his throat!"

The hands let her go, and she landed on her feet and one hand. Everyone was braced, watching everything that was happening. SOmething she would describe as a wolf-bear stood over her father, pinning him to the ground by one claw at his throat.

"Back, villains!" That was Starfire's voice. "Back through the portal, or I will be forced to place very large holes in your abdominal cavities."

She heard the sound of Star's starbolts energized, then the sound of two somethings passing through...something with a strange slurping noise.

Suddenly, Toph recognized the scent the wolfbear was giving off, and grinned. "BB, you can let my father up now."

Beast Boy stepped back and shifted back to his normal state. "Oops. Kinda bad first impression on the prospective in-laws, huh?"

"I don't know," her mother spoke up. "I was impressed." Toph could feel BB's grin.

Toph's father stood up and brushed himself off. He started to open his mouth, but his wife smacked his shoulder.

"You have said enough. I will not allow YOUR overcompensation queer what may be the last time I ever see MY daughter!"

Toph froze and stared...sort of. "What...what are you talking about, Mom?"

"The Avatar tells us he can only keep the portal open for so long...and he won't be able to open it again. And clearly, you wish to stay here with this young man, yes?" She gestured to Beast Boy.

"Yes...I am staying with Garfield. But that's not what I was asking about." She could tell her mother was dodging the real question.

Her mother sighed. "YOu would catch that...and I suppose you do deserve the truth, if you are going your own way." She shook her head. "YOu've grown up so much, my dear." SHe pulled Toph into a hug, then stepped back. "My husband is impotent."

Toph was silent. "Say...what?"

"Indeed, has been since before our wedding. When I found out, I was quite upset, but I made a deal with him. He still needed an heir, so I offered to provide him with one...as long as he never questioned how I went about it. Today, I will tell you how this came to pass."

"In that case," Starfire spoke up, "I think he should go back first." SHe picked up Mr. Bei Fong. Toph's mother nodded, and Toph heard a spinning through the air, followed by her...legal father's scream, cut off by that strange slurping noise.

Her mother turned towards her again. "One night, I did myself up as a...lady of the night, and went to seek a strong man who would give me a strong child, one who could be claimed as the family heir. I know not who he was, but...I know him to have been a fire nation soldier."

Toph was stunned. "My real dad...is fire nation?"

"Indeed. He was strong and viril, and possessed a seeming nobility. But he also had a great sadness in him. Over drinks before...well, before...he spoke out, asking what purpose were honors in war when you had no one left to share them with. After...I encouraged him to have hope for the future."

SUddenly, Iroh spoke up. "Your exact words were, 'The future is full of surprises, and the spirits have their own way to balance the books,' if I'm not mistaken."

TOph's mother looked at him. "How...how do you know?"

Iroh smiled at her. "I believe that night, you went by the name of...Mai Ren. You're still just as beautiful as you were that night."

Toph stared at Iroh. "You?"

Sokka suddenly laughed. "I always said we were like a big family. Now I know we really are. COme on, Zuko! GO give your cousin a hug!"

Toph suddenly shuddered. "Ew! Zuko's my cousin, and I used to have a crush on him!" Everyone laughed, and Toph realized that all the Titans were up there.

Introductions and comparisons were made all around, especially when Starfire and Katara got into a hug fest. Then the portal started to make some noise, and Aang cleared his throat.

"Time's almost up, Toph. I take it...you're staying?"

"YEah, Twinkletoes. I'm staying. I'm...happy here. I'll miss all of you."

"YOu won't miss me," Iroh stated mysteriously.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'll miss you! You were the closest thing to a loving Dad I had, and now I know you actually are my Dad! It hurts to say goodbye..."

"No, I mean you won't miss me because I'm staying, too."

"EH!" everyone shouted.

Iroh smiled. "For many years now, I have mourned the loss of my son. I have done all I can for all of you, but other than my tea shop, I have little to look forward to. Here, though, I have a daughter who has found a loved one. I may have grandkids before long! I have every reason to stay, and little reason to go." He nodded to them all. "I know this is sudden...but Toph needs me here far more than all of you do."

Teary eyed farewells were given all around, and Aang and the others took off on Appa through the portal. Iroh turned, wiping his eyes. "So," he said, changing the subject, "who here knows how to brew a proper cup of tea?"

Raven laughed. "Come on, old man. Let's get you settled in."

Everyone turned and went into the Tower, as the halls filled with joyful laughter.

The End 


End file.
